the perks of owning a cafe
by olympicmayhem
Summary: In which Futaba is left to take care of Leblanc and Yusuke tries to find inspiration for his new theme: love.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Persona.**

* * *

Yusuke is in a slump. Again. His brush strokes across the canvass but no matter how hard he tries, he just can't bring out the emotion of love in his paintings. Several discarded canvasses already litter his paint-splattered floor (Ren and Ryuji have told him countless times to clean up his room to make it more livable) but none of them would just turn out right.

He was so sure that the arrival of Ann Takamaki would spark inspiration in him. Ann and Ren are so in love that it almost hurt to look at them. He tried to capture the expression on the lovers' faces every time they were together but to no avail. It was almost impossible to get the right emotion out of his artworks.

He sighed and took the canvass he was currently working on, dumping it on a vacant space. Just going around in circles won't get him anywhere, he thinks. Maybe he should go hang out with Ann and Ren again. Maybe this time, he'd finally get that spark right. He didn't want to intrude on their dates (although he's done that a lot of times already. Not that they mind) but he was getting desperate to capture the expression of pure romantic bliss. He picked his phone up from his desk and was about to call Ren when the front door suddenly opened with a loud bang and he hurried out of his room, prepared to take down a burglar, when a certain orange-haired girl with glasses and headphones covering her ears appeared right in front of him. He sighed, relaxing. Whose great idea was it to give Futaba a key to their apartment?

"Monaaaaa~!" She exclaims, ignoring Yusuke, her eyes scanning the quaint living room for signs of Ren's black cat (his real name is Morgana. Futaba just came up with the nickname). "I'm here to pick you up!"

"How many times do I have to tell you that his name is not Mona but Morgana?" He shook his head. "His name is of high class and you are doing him a disservice by degrading such a wonderful name."

"Oh shut up, Inari." She checked under the coffee table. Yusuke sighed. How many times has he sighed today? He lost count.

"My name is not Inari," Yusuke complained. He remembers the costume party their university had last year. They were allowed to bring outsiders in so the whole gang thought it'd be a good idea to invite Futaba. The girl almost never leaves her house (The few times she had to help her step-father out at Leblanc and her initiative to care for Morgana in their apartment in Ren's stead actually surprised everyone). He decided to wear a fox mask and the girl made fun of him for it, thus giving him the name Inari.

"Ah hah!" She exclaimed, straightening up. In her hands is Ren's black cat, meowing. "C'mon Mona. Let's take you to Leblanc. We're gonna play all day!"

Yusuke frowned. Sojiro, Futaba's step-father and owner of café Leblanc, would never allow animals inside.

"You do know that Morgana is prohibited from entering the café, do you not?"

Futaba rolled her eyes. "Of course I do, stupid Inari. It just so happens that Sojiro is out of town for a week and left me in charge of the café." She grinned proudly at him. "Which means I can do whatever I want! Now see ya! Mona and I have a lot of playing to do!" She makes her way out of the apartment.

Yusuke was impressed at Sojiro's trust in Futaba but he knew that only disaster awaits if she was left on her own devices. He sighed. Looks like inspiration will have to wait.

"Wait," Futaba stops midstep and turns to look at him. "I'm coming with you."

The corners of her mouth tilt up in a huge smile. "That's great! You can be my servant!"

Yusuke shakes his head and heads back to his room to grab his wallet and keys. He joins Futaba out of the apartment. It was lucky that it only took one train ride and a couple minutes of walking to get to the backstreets of Yongen-Jaya. It was probably the reason why Futaba can handle going to their place.

Futaba shoves the cat to his arms and rummaged through her jacket pockets for the keys. She flipped the sign on the door and went inside. Yusuke followed suit.

Leblanc is usually one of the places Yusuke goes to when he wants to take a break from painting. The ambience of the place calms him down and the coffee warms down to his very core. But right now, without Sojiro, the whole place is a mess. Remnants of customers still litter the tables and the sink is full of unwashed mugs and dishes (Ren helped Futaba out the day before. She told him she'd be able to clean the place up by herself). Yusuke placed Morgana on one of the stools and looked around the place. He was right. Futaba would send this place down to hell if he doesn't intervene.

"Clean the tables," he ordered the short girl, rolling his sleeves up. He takes one of the aprons and wears it before going to the sink to wash the chinaware.

"I'm supposed to do the bossing here," Futaba grumbles as she wears her own apron, doing as she was told.

They spent a good two hours trying to clean up the place. It was a good thing that Leblanc doesn't get much customers, or they wouldn't find the time to finish cleaning the whole place up.

The bell rang, signaling the arrival of a customer, just as Yusuke was done wiping the last plate dry.

"Futaba, go take the customer's order." When Futaba didn't move from her spot in the counter, he looked up and saw the frightened expression on her small face. He mentally slapped himself. Futaba has always been bad at handling strangers by herself. How could he have forgotten? He sighs and pats her head before making his way to their first customer. "Go get the coffee brewing."

He doesn't see the grateful smile Futaba throws his way, he was too busy talking to the customer.

They spend the rest of the day like this. Futaba is in charge of the food while Yusuke caters to the customers. He would never tell Futaba but he thinks that her coffee is second only to Sojiro. He'd never hear the end of it if she finds out.

"Well!" Futaba started. "I say that today's a profitable day! What say you, servant?"

They were sitting on the stools by the counter, drinking coffee Futaba brewed, resting after a full day of work.

"It wasn't bad," he admitted, sipping from his cup.

"Considering the late opening and the mess this place was before."

"Hey! It wasn't that bad!"

"There was trash on all the tables. And every piece of china was on the sink."

"It still isn't as bad as I'd expect it to be!" She frowned, staring at her coffee. "Actually, I was really afraid of how I'd be able to manage this place without Sojiro." Yusuke watches her out of the corner of his eye. She continues, fidgeting with her cup of coffee. "So I guess… what I want to say is that… thank you." The last two words were barely audible but it was enough to leave a smile on his face.

Futaba faced him. "You think you'd be able to come by again tomorrow?"

Yusuke ponders the question. He's still stuck in a slump after all, but it's not like brooding about it in his room would help. He might as well help Futaba out. He might get an inspiration or two while working.

"Sure. I don't mind."

The orange-haired girl's face broke into a huge grin.

"Great! Then I shall see you tomorrow, servant!"

"And for the last time, I am not your servant."

* * *

The next day was uneventful for Yusuke. The only entertaining thing that happened would be when Ryuji accidentally walked in on Ann speaking to Makoto and Haru in fluent Japanese.

"For real?!" He shouted, incredulous. "I spent two months trying to crack my head talking to you and you were able to understand Japanese this whole time?!"

Ren cracked up laughing as the other two girls shook their heads at their blond friend's stupidity.

"Okay, pay up! Pay up!" Haru suddenly says, holding her hand out. "I totally won this bet."

"Damn, Ryuji." Ren sighs as he fishes for his wallet. "All you had to do was remain ignorant for another month and I could've won."

"I'm actually surprised Ryuji was able to find out this early," Yusuke mutters, placing a one thousand yen bill on Haru's open hand. "I would've thought it would take him a year to figure it out."

Ryuji watches the whole ordeal in shock.

"You even made a bet about it?!" He shakes his head. "Geez. What nice friends I have."

"It's all in good fun, Ryuji." Ann said, stifling her laughter.

Yusuke checks his watch. "I am going to go to Leblanc to help Futaba now. I shall see you all later."

"Are you sure you don't need me there to help?" Ren asks. Yusuke shakes his head with a small smile.

"It is fine. Futaba and I can handle things on our own. You should go enjoy your time with Ann." The faint pink that colored his bespectacled friend's cheeks made Yusuke chuckle. He waves farewell to his friends and made his way to Futaba.

* * *

Futaba did a better job than yesterday, he thinks as they clean up after closing the place for the day. There were less people than the day before so that may have contributed to her eagerness but it was still improvement.

"So whaddaya think, servant?" She asks with a smug look on her face. "I make a great café owner, don't I?" He rolled his eyes.

"I'm afraid to say that you still have a lot of ways to go before you become competent enough to run this place."

He felt something hit his head and looked down to see an empty cup of instant ramen.

"Stupid Inari!" Futaba said, sticking his tongue out at him. He could only shake his head at her childish antics. He would not let himself be provoked. Who was he kidding? He thinks. Inspiration will never find him with Futaba around. The only thing that would find him here would be exasperation.

* * *

"Why are you always painting?"

It was a Wednesday afternoon and there was nobody at Leblanc. Yusuke decided it was the perfect time to try and paint something. After all, maybe he'd get it right this time. He took out a watercolor palette and a few pieces of rolled up watercolor paper and placed them on one of the booth tables. He was aware of Futaba watching him in the booth before him, but he tried to focus on his work and ignore her. At least, until she asked that question.

"Painting is all that I am," he answers simply, with finality. Futaba frowns at his answer.

"It is not 'all that you are'' She made air quotes with her fingers. "You're obviously more than that. So why?"

Yusuke puts his brush down. In all honesty, he's never given much thought about it. To him, painting is natural; a brush is an extension of his hand, and art is emotion that is given shape, color, depth.

"Painting is something that I was born to do," he tells her, slowly. "I try to capture the essence of emotion and give them life. Without art, I don't know what I'd do. I can never imagine my future without it."

"Dummy," Futaba mutters. "Emotions have life even if you don't paint them." She stands up. "And besides, who actually knows what their future would look like?"

Their conversation ended when a customer stepped inside. Futaba went back to her safe spot behind the counter. Yusuke kept his art materials.

* * *

That night Yusuke lied in bed with his arms crossed behind his bed. He's given up trying to sleep after several failed attempts. He stares at the dark ceiling, thinking about Futaba's words. He sighed and turned to face the wall.

"That damn little girl," he muttered. "Now she's given me more to think."

* * *

Yusuke sits on his stool in front of his canvass the next day. He was at the university's art room. He rarely uses it (he doesn't like the noise the other art majors make) so the other students were really surprised to see the Yusuke Kitagawa using the art room.

He tries to drown out the noise as his brush paints shades of blue and green and orange. Some of the students would stop and stare at his work, giving him praises, but Yusuke knew that this isn't enough. If he was to make the little jacket-clad girl understand the true meaning of his art, the reason why he always paints, then it should not be less than perfect.

He almost didn't hear the phone ringing inside his back. He places the brush on his easel before taking the device out of his bag. Checking the caller ID, Yusuke saw that it was Futaba calling him. She was probably bored out of her mind, he thinks, as he swipes his thumb across the screen. He places the phone next to his ear.

"Inari!" came Futaba's voice from the phone. There was something wrong about her voice. She sounded… scared. Yusuke immediately stood up, bumping one of the jars of paint and causing it to spill on the floor. The other students turned to look at the sudden commotion but Yusuke didn't pay them any care. There were more important matters at hand.

"Inari," she repeated, this time sniffling. Yusuke grabbed his bag from the floor and swiftly left the room, trying to walk as fast as he possibly can without breaking into a run.

"Futaba?" He asks, trying to sound calm. "What happened?"

"H-He came here!"

"Who came?"

"Hurry up, Inari!"

"I'm on my way."

"Hurry up." She cut the call. Yusuke tried to catch the next train.

* * *

Yusuke was surprised to see the mess the café was in. He quickly flipped the sign to close before closing the door behind him. The chairs were overturned and a coffee pot, as well as several cups, lie broken in shards. The girl was nowhere in sight.

"Futaba?" he called out. The girl appeared from her hiding spot behind the counter. As soon as she saw him, she squealed out an "Inari!" before running up to him to give him a tight bear hug. Yusuke was surprised by the sudden skinship. The only times Futaba would actually offer them skinship would be when she was terrified. As it was, the girl was shaking from head to toe. Yusuke enveloped her in his slender arms, providing her with comfort and security.

"Are you okay?" He asked gently. The girl shook her head.

"What happened?"

It took Futaba a couple moments to answer.

"My uncle came by today."

Yusuke nodded. They all heard the story of how Futaba was taken under Sojiro's wing when she was in middle school. The girl's mother got into an accident and she was given to her only living relative: her uncle. But the bastard was abusive. He starved and emotionally abused the girl until she became such a recluse. It took her awhile to realize that Sojiro wasn't like his uncle. It took her longer to trust Yusuke and his friends.

He tightened his hold around the girl. For that bastard to come here when Futaba was all alone, he could only imagine the fear Futaba went through.

"What did your uncle want?"

"You know how Sojiro payed him money to shut him up?" Futaba asked, craning her neck to look up at him. He nodded. "Well, he lost all of it on gambling—"

"—and so he went here asking for more." Yusuke finished. The girl nodded.

"Did you tell him that Sojiro's out of town?"

"Yeah. That's when he started thrashing this place. He was a little drunk when he came here. Didn't help his temper at all."

"And did you tell Sojiro about this?"

"No way!" she exclaims, pulling out of the hug. "I don't want him to ruin his trip and come back here just because of that guy!"

The purple-haired man nods in understanding.

"Let's clean this place up."

Futaba nodded and the two of them set to work, taking their time to put the café back in order. Futaba tried to break the silence with conversation. She told him all about the latest manga she was watching. Yusuke nods as if he understands her, and tries to make inputs about the painting he was trying to do just earlier. When everything was done, Futaba locked the place up and he decided to walk her to her home. It wasn't that far but her uncle might be hiding somewhere in the area and it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Inari?" she starts, clutching onto the sleeve of his shirt with one arm across her chest. She was looking at the floor. "Do you think you can stay here for the night? I'd feel less scared with you around." She stops to take a peek at his expression before continuing. "Some of Sojiro's clothes might fit you and ummm… you can sleep on the floor."

Yusuke patted her head and smiled at her. "Yeah. Of course." The grin that painted itself on Futaba's face was enough to make his heart melt.

* * *

He settled on the floor of Futaba's room as soon as he cleared a spot for him (this girl's room makes his look pristine) beside her bed. Futaba continued to talk nonstop about anything that came to her mind. He doesn't mind it so much. Besides, it must be the adrenaline that made her more talkative than she usually was. Finally, at about 3 am, if the clock on Futaba's bedside was correct, the girl let out a long yawn.

"Thank you for being by my side, Yusuke. I don't know what I would've done without you." She mumbled sleepily before falling asleep.

Yusuke's heart skipped a beat. Futaba's never called him by his name ever since that night of the costume party. He allowed himself a small smile and fell asleep listening to the girl's deep breaths.

* * *

Yusuke was able to convince Futaba to let him stay with her longer. He was afraid that her uncle would come back when he wasn't around so he stayed and helped out at the café instead of going to school. He texted both Ren and Ryuji to inform them of what happened, though he's sure that both of them haven't read his message yet since they were both at school.

Futaba's uncle came at around two in the afternoon. Their last customer from the noon rush hour just left when the bell rang again to inform them of a newcomer. The look on Futaba's face was enough to inform him of the identity of the man. He pushed the girl behind his back, shielding her from her uncle.

"Oi Futaba," came the slur of his voice. The guy was obviously drunk. "Is Sojiro back yet?" It was Yusuke who answered.

"He's not here," he informs the older man. "I suggest you leave."

"And who are you, huh?" the man turned his attention on him. He cocked one eyebrow.

"It doesn't matter who I am," he tells him. "All that matters is that you're not welcome here."

"Futaba," her uncle addressed, craning his neck to look at her from behind Yusuke. "Tell your friend here not to butt into family matters."

"Yusuke's right!" Futaba squeaked from behind him, peeking her head out a little. "You're not welcome here!"

"Huh? What was that?" Futaba's uncle reached out to grab a mug and proceeded to throw it to Yusuke. It nearly hit him, if it were not for the fact that the guy was drunk. Futaba let out a short scream and she clutched onto Yusuke's shirt tightly. The man reached his arm out again and was about to grab another mug when Yusuke took his phone out.

"If you don't stop, then I will call the police," he tells the man. "In case you don't know, this place has CCTV installed, so if you don't want to spend some time behind bars, then I suggest you go."

Her uncle gulped and looked around the place to check if he was bluffing. He was probably able to find one of the CCTVs because he drops his arm and tells Futaba, "Oi Futaba, c'mon. You don't need to call the police, right? Uncle just needs some money, come on."

Futaba finally stepped out from behind him. There was a steely look in her eyes and Yusuke felt a surge of pride for her. The girl was finally stepping up to her fears.

"Leave, uncle." Her voice was steady, confident. Her uncle mumbled a string of cuss words and left.

As soon as he was gone Futaba fell down on her knees and started crying. Yusuke was quick to console her, giving her a comforting hug and whispering praises to her ear. When she was calm enough, she pushed away a little and looked at Yusuke in the eye.

"Yusuke, thank you! I don't think I could stand up to him without you!" Yusuke gave her a small smile. Butterflies started to flutter inside his stomach. He patted her head.

"I'm so proud of you."

"Alright, where's that bastard?!" The door banged open and the rest of their friends came flooding in, with Ryuji in the front.

"Ryuji, stop being so loud!" Ann reprimanded, frowning at the blonde, before casting her eyes on the two still on the floor. "Futaba-chan! Are you alright? Did your uncle hurt you?"

Her boyfriend, Ren, leaned down on her, looking for signs of injury. At last, he smiled. "Were you able to fight him off?"

Futaba gave him the biggest smile and nodded. "Yeah!"  
Their two male friends helped the two of them get up. The girls swarmed on Futaba and the boys watch them silently (except for Ryuji). As Yusuke watched the orange-haired girl laughing happily, something inside him finally clicked. He started laughing, and everyone stopped what they were doing to look at him.

"What's so funny, Yusuke?" Haru asked him. Yusuke merely shook his head and gave him a smile.

"It's nothing."

"You're so weird, stupid Inari."  
Yusuke smiled at the bespectacled girl. Amazing, he thought. Who would've that he'd get out of his slump and find the answer he was looking for here? Love was staring him right in the eyes the whole time but he was too blind to see it.

* * *

"So today's the last day I become a café owner, huh?"

They were sitting on the stools drinking coffee Futaba made for both of them. They just finished cleaning up and decided to get some rest before calling it a day.

"I'm gonna miss being an owner." Futaba said, stretching her arms out on the bar.

"As I've said once before," he started, taking a sip of coffee. "You still have a ways to go before you become a competent owner."

Futaba stuck her tongue out at him before giving him a grin.

"But we make a pretty good team, huh?"

Even Yusuke let a small smile paint his lips.

"That we did."

She propped an elbow on the bar and rested her chin on her palm, looking at him.

"So have you found it?" He looked at her from the corner of his eye.

"Found what?"

"Y'know, the reason why you always paint?"

He closed his eyes before answering.

"My answer will be the same as before. I paint to give shape to emotion." He could hear her snort beside him. "But it was thanks to you that I was able to get an answer for my theme."

"Oh?" She asked, sounding excited. "I'm amazing aren't I?" He silently agreed but didn't say anything. "So what is it?"

"Hm?"

"Y'know. Your theme. What is it?"

He opened his eyes and twisted his body to face her. Looking at her in the eyes, his lips curl ever so slightly upwards as he gives her the answer: "Love."

Futaba's cheeks colored a bright shade of pink as she averted her gaze. She played with her hair, fidgeting in her seat, before finally giving him a bright smile.

"Are you going to show me the painting then?"

"We'll see."

"Not fair! I totally deserve to see it!"

Yusuke only chuckled in reply.

* * *

It was a week after Sojiro came back when Futaba decided to drop by the university unannounced. He found out what happened with Futaba's uncle when he was gone and he found new respect for the young artist who helped Futaba in her time of need.

"I~na~riiiiiiiiii~" The girl singsongs as she skips to where Yusuke was diligently painting. He just finished adding the final touches to his new masterpiece when the girl collided against his back, giving him a huge back hug. The other students stared at them but the two payed them no mind. "Are you done?"

Yusuke nodded, tilting his head up to look at her.

"What do you think?"

The girl studied the picture closely before giving him a huge grin.

"I love it! It's perfect! You totally captured the emotion of love in this piece! You did it Inari!" She tightened her hold on him. Yusuke felt his pride swell up inside him. He was finally able to create the perfect magnum opus.

She finally released him before asking: "Are you hungry? C'mon. It's my treat. As a prize for creating the most beautiful piece you've had yet!" Yusuke chuckled and took his bag from the floor, standing up.

"Do you have money?"

She puffed her cheeks up.

"Sojiro gave me money before I went here!"

"Come then. I'm starving."

The couple made their way outside, leaving the painting inside the art room to dry. Inside the art room, a couple of the students talk amongst themselves.

"Hey, isn't she…?"

"Yeah. You saw her too?"

"So that's who Kitagawa drew inspiration from!"

Some students stared at the painting. It was simple; a side profile of a girl with long, orange hair, glasses, and headphones covering her ear, sitting on a stool drinking coffee. The title was written underneath in Yusuke's fine handwriting: "Futaba".

* * *

 **A/N: lolololol I ended up making another one. This could be read alone or you can read the other Persona fic I made since they're in the same au. I totes found out where I wanna go with my Mystic Messenger fic though so that's a yay, but I was thinking of writing another two or three Persona fics in the same universe as this. As usual, I'm sorry for all grammatical and spelling errors as this wasn't proofread. Thank you for reading!**

 **-olympicmayhem**


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